If you're in the U.S. it's probably not so easy deciding which carrier is best for your iPhone 5 needs, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and now T-Mobile. Price is always a huge factor to consider when choosing a carrier, but coverage should be just as, if not more, important when making a decision. Since the iPhone 5 supports LTE cellular technology, you're going to want to take a close look at which carriers offer the best LTE coverage in your area. Then there's the matter of simultaneous voice and data -- AT&T and T-Mobile can do it over HSPA data, but Sprint and Verizon need Wi-Fi. And don't forget international roaming.

First, let's take a look at prices.

AT&T vs Verizon vs Sprint vs T-Mobile shared plans

All four carriers use different rules for calculating the price of their plans, so instead of making things confusing and spelling out all the little details for each plan, we're going to jump to what really matters -- the bottom line.

Unfortunately, the above chart isn't quite enough to compare the four carriers because it leaves out a few details. The information for Verizon and AT&T is actually fairly complete, but some things need to be clarified for T-Mobile and Sprint.

First of all, notice that T-Mobile plans are not "share everything" plans like Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. So the 500MB plans more closely compare with Verizon and AT&T's 1 GB plans and the 2 GB plans are similar to 4GB on Verizon and AT&T. I say 'similar', because they're not identical -- each line on T-Mobile has its own pool of data.

Another important detail about T-Mobile's plans is that they all technically include unlimited data. The 500MB and 2GB plans are the data caps for high-speed 4G data. If you pass those limits, you will not be charged extra, but you'll be throttled to 3G or 2G speeds.

All Sprint plans include unlimited text and mobile to any mobile minutes. This means you can call any cell phone, even one not on Sprint's network, without dipping into your pool of minutes. The plans included in the first chart include 1500 minutes of non-mobile phone calls. Sprint does offer 3000 and unlimited minutes plans, but they're pretty pricey (see above).

In addition to the above shared plans for AT&T that include unlimited minutes and text, you can also choose from these individual plans if you only want one phone line and don't care about unlimited minutes or text.

Cost to add an iPad on Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint

As of right now, LTE iPads are not yet available on T-Mobile. Verizon and AT&T let you add an iPad (or other tablet) to your shared plan for just $10 per month. Sprint does not offer an add-on plan. For more details on iPad pricing, check out our iPad carrier comparison.

LTE availability

In addition to price, you must also consider where each carrier offers coverage and if you're within that area. When it comes to coverage, the first thing you want to consider is LTE availability.

Clearly, the above maps are not a good enough indication of LTE coverage in your area. So make sure you look at each of carriers' maps very closely as they all offer an interactive tool that lets you zoom into your specific area and learn exactly which areas of your city get coverage.

If LTE is not available to you on either network, the next thing to look at is 3G (or "4G" -- ugh!) coverage.

It really does come down to who offers the best coverage. If price is deal breaker for you, you may have to compromise on coverage and stability and choose Sprint or T-Mobile, but if you're willing to pay extra for a better network, take a close hard look at the coverage that AT&T and Verizon offer. Don't only look at maps, either. Talk to your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers who use AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile to learn how satisfied they are with their carrier's network.

Simultaneous voice and data

AT&T and T-Mobile are the only ones who can provide simultaneous voice and data for the iPhone 5 (Apple chose to prioritize battery life over including a second radio as a work around). So if simultaneous voice and data is something you value, you'll have to scratch Verizon and Sprint off your list.

International traveling

Since AT&T is GSM carrier and Sprint and Verizon are CDMA carries, Apple chose to make two different models of the iPhone 5: GSM+LTE for AT&T and T-Mobile and CDMA+LTE for Verizon and Sprint. For people who don't travel internationally, this fact is irrelevant, but if you're a frequent traveler, it may play a very important role on which carrier you choose. To make a long story short, if you regularly travel within North America (US and Canada) and want to be able to switch SIM cards and use local LTE when you travel, AT&T and T-Mobile are your choices. If you travel to the rest of the world, then you want Verizon or Sprint. If you travel between Canada and the rest of the world, well, you're out of luck -- you can't have both, unfortunately. If this is something that you need to consider, hit the link above for more details.

(Note: There are almost no LTE roaming agreements between carriers, so if you don't plan on switching SIM cards, it makes no difference which iPhone you get -- you'll roam on 3G.)

Making the choice

So which carrier are you going to choose? And why? Anyone planning to switch to a different carrier when your contract is up? Sound off in the comments below!

Former app and photography editor at iMore, Leanna has since moved on to other endeavors. Mother, wife, mathamagician, even though she no longer writes for iMore you can still follow her on Twitter @llofte.

Reader comments

Verizon will always be at the top of the list for me. Great phone selection and AMAZING 4G LTE coverage. Although I think the one thing that really seals the deal for me is the commercials. Most of the other carriers are so stuck on the fact that they have a bigger "4G" network. All this does is create confusion for the average consumer. They see an AT

I've been very happy with my iPhone experiences with Sprint. Sure it's not perfect, but I have friends who complain about AT&T and Verizon as well. Sprint does offer an add-on plan for the iPads. I have a 1gb plan that I added to my standard plan for $15/month. They also have a 300k plan. It works out okay since I'm only using the cell portion when I need it, not all the time. Their LTE market is expanding as well. I live in Portland Oregon and am starting to see LTE service on my iPhone 5 in more and more places.

I'm right there with the both of you. My work phone is a small flip phone with At&t and it is waaaay better. I'll either be switching to at&t or T-Mobile. And I can't wait for my contract to end. I've only been with them for 2 months and no I'm about to pay the term fee and break my contract. No more Sprint for me.

"To make a long story short, if you regularly travel within North America (US and Canada) and want to be able to switch SIM cards and use local LTE when you travel, AT&T and T-Mobile are your choices. If you travel to the rest of the world, then you want Verizon or Sprint."

I think you got that backwards. GSM is the more portable of the two formats, being present in almost every country. CDMA is very restricted to the few countries that could afford Qualcomm's licensing.

I was thinking about switching back to T-mobile but I looked at their coverage and in just one of three more out of the way cities I travel to for work they only have 2G coverage. I've heard too many horror stories about AT

AT is my carrier of choice. I have had nothing but great experiences with customer service helping me out, knocking off unnecessary charges. For my area the coverage is really good, and they just recently turned on LTE so not only has the speed gotten better, but the coverage as well. AT is the choice for anyone who doesn't want a mobile share plan. For me and my family, it's cheaper to use the tiered plans (including corp discount). I feel that Verizon did a no-no by eliminating tier plans and going all in on mobile share. For the money I would spend on an entry level Verizon plan with 1GB of data, I can get 5GB of data with AT. Sure you don't get unlimited voice and text...but who calls that much anymore?! And as far as texting goes...that's what iMessage & Google Voice is for.

I believe this whole AT thing is the site handling characters weird and dropping anything after a character. I thought one of y'all (maybe it was Rene) wrote about writing in markdown for this site, and a big that was supposed to be fixed in the latest update. Not sure.

As soon as I have the money to buy a new iPhone I'll be switching to T-Mobile prepaid $30 unlimited data and text, 100 minutes. I read online you can put an android device or iOS on the plan. I have a Verizon iPhone 4 :( which I know won't work. I just hope the plan is still available around when the iPhone 5s will come out.

I currently have Verizon and never had an issue with them with my service at all since having them 6 years now. No problems with billing....and I have a discount with my work through them. So right now I am a happy camper. I do plan on moving down south in May, as I am in upstate NY right now and I am not too sure how the service will be down there.....although when I have vacationed down there (Florida future home to be exact), I have not had any issues there that I can think of...none at all. I have encountered (since everything is NOT perfect) lower signal in Walmart before.....can't say all walmarts, but there is one around here that the signal gets low, but never out of service. Occasionally I'll get roaming, but that is very very rare.

Only thing that could change my mind as to which carrier I will get is if my work discount gets removed or signal gets bad down there. I also don't want to switch carriers because I don't want to lose my Unlimited plan at all and Sprint is not so great especially hearing about the low reception and how slow their network is. Eeek. But Verizon all the way---because I don't care about talk and surf at the same time. Just wish they lowered the plans though sheesh!!!!

work discount will most likely stay. i have never heard of anyone loosing their corporate discount when switching jobs. as for signal, Verizon is much better in the south than anywhere else in the US. I moved to Los Angeles recently from Atlanta, and the signal is nowhere near as good, but still better than other carriers. I think you will be pleased with the reception. unless you happen to live in a verizon dead spot.

After almost 20 years with Verizon (most of it with a corporate discount) I left my job last Sept and just got an email about a week ago from Verizon asking me to verify my affiliation with my previous company....I was very surprised!

Yeah exactly. I have to provide them my discount by the 20th. Yes that's August 20. I have changed jobs as I am now living in Florida. They don't have Wegmans down here (it's such a shame cuz if you've ever been to a Wegmans you'll never like any other grocery store period!). The only thing I miss in NY is shopping at Wegmans. Lol. (Working...eeehhh). Ok so get this. I work at best buy now and I haven't been able to get pay stubs. Still have to load on my best buy personal account. So I still uploaded a print screen of my name being signed into best buy website and yesterday I got a SORRY NOT ACCEPTED email confirmation. Oook. And some days ago I walked into a verizon real store with two forms of ID like the bank card BB provides where they deposit money if you do it that way, and my bank account number to prove that's where the $ would be going into. I even walked in their right after work, with my work shirt on. Did they accept any of that? NOPE. Greeeeeeeedy!!!!! Don't other carriers approve it easier? I don't have a badge with FIRST AND LAST name on it. Such idiots places like BB won't have first and last names on badge anyway!! Just thought I would mention this just to show ppl Verizon wants every dime REGARDLESS of how you go about to prove to them. Nope. Has to be corp email, pay stub or a corp letter w appropriate work heading written by supervisor or something. Oye. What a pain in the ass they r. Ill have 5% more added to my account once I get it approved. Damn right! And I am free to go wherever I want whenever to any carrier. Oh the options are lovely. ;-). Thinking about it, thinking about it.

Based on the map, it looks like ATAT has better 3G coverage, especially in areas like Texas. I always thought ATAT had a small foot print compared to Verizon's 3G network. Am I wrong, or am I just seeing things? Now I can easily see Verizon beats them all with 4G, but 3G..thought they beat ATAT too in coverage as well; not stability of calls, but coverage.

Also, the reason why Apple didn't do the work around with that extra radio is because they are cheap shits that do not want to give their costumers a bigger battery. At least those pricks could do that much. A 2000mah iphone could destroy things.

Consumer Cellular (AT&T Reseller) offers no contract GSM service for as little as $12 a month. I know for a fact that their service runs on iPhone 5 @ LTE speed where AT&T offers it for no extra charge even though they deny it - why I have no idea. If you have a wifi centric lifestyle, two years with a 16GB iPhone 5 will cost you less than a thousand dollars - including the cost of the unlocked iPhone 5 - with Consumer Cellular. I don't understand why the entire tech press ignores Consumer Cellular as an economical force worth considering. Use the free magicJack app for all your phone calls on wifi and where there's LTE service and you'll rarely need to spend more than their $12 minimum. And even when you do, switching your volume of service more or less is a no charge to change service. Best kept secret in cell service thanks to their incredibly crappy marketing.

Wait for the unlocked GSM iPhone 5S in July or August and subscribe to the no contract Consumer Cellular (AT&T network) for $12 a month. I'm hoping they offer a 128GB GSM iPhone 5S for $950 unlocked a month or two after the launch. Or maybe T-Mobile will offer it unlocked on day one if we pay cash for their GSM model instead of signing up for payments.

I switched from AT&T to Sprint when the iphone 5 came out. It is saving me roughly $30 a month, which is $360 a year. Not bad, right? Wrong! I figured with solid 3G speeds all around my city and the promise of lte by the middle of 2013 I could wait it out and save a few bucks. I didn't realize sprints "3G" ran as slow as AT&Ts edge. It's WiMAX "4g" (which i cant access on my i5) is the equivalent of AT&Ts 3G and its lte is scheduled to max-out at 25 mbps in my area. Meaning when I get lte I will consistently be running my lte iphone at around 8mbps. Which is what atts hspa+ network runs at. So is it worth savings a few dollars? The answer is NO!

"AT&T and T-Mobile are the only ones who can provide simultaneous voice and data for the iPhone 5 (Apple chose to prioritize battery life over including a second radio as a work around)."

LOL. Why not just call things by their real names? Apple made a cheap design on the most expensive phone ever sold on retail. Two radios and a 2000+mAh battery would have solved the issue. But people buy the thing anyway due to the logo on the back, so why bother?

2 radios and a bigger battery would cause the phone to become larger instead of smaller. I am happy with this size. But I personally don't need voice/data at the same time.
That problem will be solved once voice goes over LTE, even though that is another 1.5 years or so from becoming a reality.

In the 6th paragraph you talk about Sprint's mobile to mobile plans and then make a mistake and start the next sentence off with T-Mobile's plans being pricey, when in fact you should have said Sprint.

I just have to stick with Big Red Verizon simply because I have been with them for a long time and have no problem with their service or rates for what I use my iPhone for. I am happy with them as well as their connectivity.

Nice comparison. Great job condensing all that info into something meaningful. For my location, tmobile isn't really an option. You can't travel even within the state of KY and hope to have any kind of coverage. Heck, you can't even travel locally and have decent 3G.

Sprint never even got to Louisville with wimax much less LTE. The 3G coverage is barely ok but really slow. AT&T offers some LTE but their real strength is hspa+ coverage (if their LTE ever gets expanded then they can be considered again as both data and voice is a big plus).

That leaves Verizon as the best provider easily in KY. The LTE in Rural America program provides LTE throughout the state with unlimited LTE roaming.

First thing, on the graphic at the top of the article. How does AT&T get to be Batman!

But seriously I have long thought about switching carriers. I originally switched from T-Mobile to Sprint because of the Palm Pre (and a crazy ex but that's another story). Since the death of webOS I have become rather cold towards Sprint. While they appear to have better politics than the other carriers and appear as less "evil" their phone selection and slow network upgrade has let the wanting. I forgot how much I missed being on a GSM carrier.

The change in T- Mobile's pricing structure has given me another reason to consider a switch to AT&T. It's a shame that the carrier situation in the states is so bad that we have to compromise principles to get decent phone service.

Can't decide if its better to stick with Sprint and deal with the devil I know or the devil I don't know, but the gears are in motion.

Verizon is only a little more expensive than Att. So if you are ok with their prices, I say you go with verizon. You will notice a huge difference. Especially their LTE coverage. I went skiing at Jackson Hole, Wyoming few weekends ago and I had LTE all over the mountain and my hotel. Which is crazy because usually there is very weak data/voice on a ski resort up in the mountains. My friend with Att didn't have LTE at all on that trip.

My iPhone is unlocked and I am a frequent traveler to the US on business. Other coworkers have are using a $2 a day, pay as you go plan from T-Mobile (I think). Keeping in mind that I may spend 10 to 25 weeks a year in the US, are there any other plans that would be better for someone in my situation (wanting voice, data and international texting)?

Straight Talk has great nationwide coverage and is "unlimited" everything (on Data, they will throttle you after 2GB of usage per month). I used them for a while and never had any issues except for the data slow downs, and I travel all over the US. As for international texting, they offer an international calling plan, that might include it.

i'm not gonna lie. i'm really tempted to switch from verizon to t-mobile just for that iphone 5 deal. plus the plan is a lot cheaper. and verizon made it clear they don't care whether or not i'm a customer of theirs.

I was very excited about the T-Mobile model of doing things at first. Simple easy to understand plans and pricing, preferring to pay outright for the phone and lower monthly recurring costs, as well as not being tied to a prohibitively long 2 year Contract. However International roaming on their network is now very limited as far as i know (specifically not available in the UK where I travel a lot for business). This is due to the fact that they have moved away from 'Contracts' or a Post Paid way of billing so can't add charges on to your account as they come in from abroad.

Ultimately therefore if you wants to remain accessible abroad on your US number, you are stuck with having to sign up to what i consider an unreasonably lengthy 2 Year contract. Why is there no happy medium (or is there)? I also have a UK phone that is on a Month to Month CONTRACT therefore allowing me to Roam internationally anywhere i want and billing me afterwards. Oh and it is under $20 per month for 500 minutes/Unlimited Texts/500Mb data but that is by the by.

I admire T-Mobile and other smaller carriers (Virgin etc.) for trying to simplify the complicated way people sign up for smart phones over here (mobile to mobile, off peak, evenings and weekend, add on charges everywhere etc etc.) and hope it forces the main 2 carriers to follow suit. So close T-Mobile. So close.

As far as having the best wireless experience with a smartphone Verizon has gave me the best. With the most consistent data connected everywhere I travel. I have had a smartphone on all four major networks and none of the came close to Verizon, but AT&T cost as much as Verizon! What is AT&T doing with all their customers money?

I had T-Mobile for 5 years before switching to AT&T - and only because of the iPhone. Now that I've had AT&T for about 1.5 years I can't wait to switch back to T-Mobile. The overall experience I had with T-Mobile was much better - and I felt there customer service was much better than AT&T's and much easier to deal with.

ATT has rollover minutes, and if you have unlimited texting you can add unlimited mobile to mobile for the same price. Also you're not very accurate on ATT and the data plans, the have a 300 mb, 3 gb, and 5 gb plan, you didn't include any of that in your chart. As someone who has been with ATT for quite a long time, going on 14 years now, I've had had some issues here and there but they were easily fixed. I really haven't had but one "bad" customer service experience with ATT.

I love ATT since I switched away from Verizon. Used to work for Verizon and they can/do lie to consumers to get the sale(employee choice, though the company does not mind it) and make the other guy look bad. ATTs 3.5G is as fast as verizons LTE in many cases. Their LTE is so big because their consumer base all has LTE phones and being the biggest, they have bandwidth issues. Sure late at night or on weekends (depending on area) you may have a 10+ download speed on Verizon, but I can do that with HSPA+ phones because 3.5G tech allows that. Now ATT being the second biggest guy also has bandwidth issues but because of HSPA+ as a backbone of their network, when LTE cuts out or theres an issue, I can switch to 3G and run fine, not to mention ATT LTE is FAST. Like random speed tests pull down 25+ for me on a regular basis. Granted this is all variable on coverage and your phone but for my experience, ATT has slightly cheaper plans for me but their customer service is better (not to mention I don't get harassed in store choosing my plan/upgrade AND I can get contracts and keep my unlimited unlike big red). If you read the whole thing thank you for taking the time to listen to my experience in MN.

Oh and I forgot to type, verizons backbone is CDMA which means the fastest 3G you get is 2.5mb speeds(again to point out HSPA+ "GSM" gets 10+ mb speeds). Some of you may be confused with the 3G, 3.5G,4G,LTE labels but LTE = LTE; 3G, 3.5G, 4G = 3G

My wife and I are on a shared plan on AT&T for our two iPhones, however we live in an area where a microcell is a must (AT&T supplied it to us gratis). T-Mobile coverage around us is even worse...all 2G.

That said, we will switch to TMobile the second they offer wifi calling on the iPhone.

THIS ARTICLE HAD SO MANY ERRORS! From the T-Mobile plans being pricey to cdma being better overseas. ...For all the idiots that Don't get T-Mobiles new plans, it doesn't matter what you pay for the phone it matters What you pay over two Years!!

Currently I have sprint with 4 devices all using data. I absolutely hate it. I have determined both verizon and at&t are both similar in price for the amount of data I use and are both better. On sprint call coverage is decent but data is the worst ive seen on any carrier. There is nearly no 4G LTE coverage and and 3G coverage is spotty when not in the middle of the city. I am constantly let down when I need data, by not even being able to load web pages at all. Sprints custom service is also terrible. When I needed to replace my phone they made me go through the process of ordering a phone, not helping me order one. As well as made me pay a huge deductible. When I then shipped off my old device in the exact way they wanted me to it was lost in their facility and they blamed me for this and charged me another $350 which added up to more than if I had bought the device off contract in the first place, and it was a refurbished phone.
Bottom line sprint is the worst cell phone company I have ever had and I have been on at&t before and I have family on verizon right now so I know what the other main ones are like. I can say without a doubt that no one should suffer and be on sprints network. I am changing the second my contract is up.

It's important when considering to buy new iPhone locked to a network to know if you want your iPhone unlocked. Here at mail iphoneunlockbg in yahoo you can ask and find find amazing unlocking solutions for all USA, UK and worldwide operators. Unlocking AT&T for just 15 $ so it's worth buying an iPhone locked to them and then unlock it and use it with another gsm provider.

I've had it with T-Mobile screwing customers. It's the cheaper option, sure, but it doesn't look cheap anymore that one time they snag you for some overcharge, or false advertising deal. Seriously, the FCC, FTC, or class-action attorney could have a field day with the deceptive marketing. And don't expect tangible results from the lip service T-Mobile's service reps give to "customer loyalty. TMO I'd just another giant oligopolist trying to separate you from.your money.

Tmobile is the one for me, I live in Tampa Florida and my lte is awesome. I have 2 lines and pay 120 with truly unlimited 4g data that never slows down. I even signed up for their new jump program. It allows me to upgrade my phone 2wice a year. I got the note 2 financed 20 a month on my bill but as soon as note 3 arrives I can turn in my note 2 tmobile will waive the remaining debt and allow me to finance note 3 20 a month for 24 months. This company is awesome and no more contracts.

I plan to switch from Verizon to T-Mobile. I've been an avid Verizon customer since my first cell phone in the early 90's. I've added phones for my wife and children since then but I've become frustrated recently by my "unlimited data" being throttled back and by needing to pay for additional data for my children who got their phones after "unlimited data" was no longer offered.

I agree that Verizon has the best coverage. That was important to me when I traveled for my job but now that is not on my list of priorities T-Mobile, with its truly unlimited plan, seems to be the way to go.

I have Sprint and they have been nothing but a pain! If you are smart stay clear from them!!!!! My contract doesn't end until next year but I am not waiting one more day! And they can shove the fee where the sun doesn't shine!! No one at Sprint knows .....